VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 79 , May 17, 2009
St. Louis, Missouri


Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin

بــــــــــسم الله الرحمن الرحيـــــــــــــم

In The Name Of Allah, Most Gracious and Most Merciful

Sri Lanka Crisis: Over 200,000 People Displaced by Conflict

EMERGENCY APPEAL FROM:

"Muslim Aid"

Assalamu alaykum - Peace and blessings be upon you

8th May 2009, Sri Lanka

Since February 2008, fighting between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers) and the Sri Lankan government has reached a climax leaving 200,000 people stranded in refugee camps as they attempt to flee the fighting.




It is believed that some 50,000 people are still caught up in the war zone. The 26-year old insurgency which has killed over 70,000 people and injured thousands more, has uprooted communities from their homes and forced them to take refuge in the more densely populated areas of Vavunia, Jaffna and Trincomalee that are unable to cope with the huge influx of internally displaced people (IDPs).




In Vavunia, 53,000 people have arrived since Sunday May 3rd 2009; the overwhelming numbers of injured and malnourished are putting pressure on hospitals and medical facilities due to poor infrastructure and inadequate resources.




In the camps, thousands are without access to clean water and adequate sanitation facilities increasing the threat of illness from waterborne diseases. Children, who make up about 30% of the displaced population, are especially at risk from chicken pox, ring worms and diarrhea due to dehydration and contaminated water supplies. Muslim Aid's response:



Muslim Aid has allocated £55,000 to provide emergency relief to the people of Sri Lanka. Since February this year the Muslim Aid Sri Lanka Field Office has provided: * 100 hospital beds to facilitate the rehabilitation of the injured in overwhelmed hospitals. * A mobile field hospital in Vavunia refugee camp providing medical treatment to 2,000 patients a day. * With our partners Kuwait Hospital and Al Shabab, we are supporting the provision of ambulances and medical supplies. *


Muslim Aid will provide clean drinking water using our trekker water purification equipment, water purification tablets and water bowsers that are currently waiting to enter the region.


Each water purification system can supply 144,000 litres of water per day. Please help us to give more to those with nowhere to turn. Donate Now. They need your support.

For follow up to assist Muslim Aid, please contact: muslimaid@gator.gtml2.com

ONGOING SUFFERING OF THE TAMILS IN SRI LANKA

May 11, 2009

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The United Nations condemned a "bloodbath" in Sri Lanka's northern war zone Monday after two days of shelling that a government doctor said killed as many as 1,000 ethnic Tamil civilians — including 106 children.

Volunteers dug mass graves in the marshland, putting 50 to 60 bodies in each pit, according to Dr. V. Shanmugarajah, who works at a makeshift hospital in the war zone. He said one nurse was killed along with his family in a trench that was then filled with soil and turned into their grave.

A Sri Lankan ethnic Tamil man weeps over his dead son following a shell attack out side a makeshift hospital. (AP)
.

A injured Tamil child is taken care of. (AP)

In this photograph released by the Sri Lankan navy April 22, 2009, a Tamil man and woman carry children after fleeing an area called the "No Fire Zone" controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Reuters/Sri Lankan Govt)

Displaced Tamil children at a camp in Chettikulam, northern Sri Lanka on April 29, 2009. (AFP/File/Pedro Ugarte)



A Tamilnet photo allegedly taken inside the Tamil Tiger rebel-controlled area in mullaittiu, northeast Sri Lanka, shows civilians waiting for food after fleeing their homes (AFP/Tamilnet/Ho)

Relatives and mourners of nine Sri Lankan villagers carry their coffins at a funeral service in the southeastern area of Buttala. The British and French foreign ministers said that Tamil Tigers rebels in Sri Lanka are using civilians as human shields, which was preventing them from leaving the conflict zone. (AFP)

Muslim Doctor Blames Prayers for her Dismissal

Yorkshire Post, may 15, 2009

A Muslim doctor who was dismissed from her job claims she was discriminated against on religious grounds because she wanted to attend Mosque for prayers every Friday, a tribunal heard yesterday. Dr Musarrat Syed-Shah, 31, is alleging religious discrimination and victimisation against four partners from the North Leeds Medical Practice after her partnership agreement was terminated on August 8 last year.

The employment tribunal in Leeds heard that Dr Syed-Shah claims the other doctors were "unhappy" about her attending the weekly prayers. Michael McDonough, for Dr Syed-Shah, told the tribunal: "They were unhappy with her attending the Mosque for Friday prayers and they applied a condition to her which was not applied to anyone else by saying they were not allowed to leave the surgery between sessions."

Mr McDonough continued: "Following the notice of termination on August 8, she was expressly forbidden from going to the Mosque from August 8 till the end of her contract." Dr Syed-Shah also claims she was victimised after refusing to see both her own and another GP's patients while covering for that doctor's surgery.

Mr McDonough said the amount of patients meant Dr Syed-Shah would have had to see one person every five minutes, which she refused to do. "She was asked to take on another doctor's surgery, which would have involved her doubling up on patients," he said. The solicitor added that Dr Syed-Shah had also suffered repetitive strain injury, which she believed was as a result of undertaking four-hour telephone consultation sessions with patients. She claims complaints about these health problems also led to her victimisation at the practice, which has surgeries in Harrogate Road and Milan Street.

Dr Syed-Shah described herself in her evidence as a "devout" Muslim who had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca before taking up the post at the practice and prayed five times a day. She had attended mosques on Fridays throughout her adult life. On being given the job, Dr Syed-Shah said she requested Fridays off but was told it was not convenient. However, she believed her sessions could be arranged to allow time in between to visit the Mosque for Friday prayers, and said the practice manager, Sharon James, and one of the other partners, Dr Manjit Purewal, agreed there would be no problem with this.

When Dr Purewal later asked her to take on an extra shift on Fridays, meaning she would have to work for more than nine hours without a break and miss prayers, she objected and was accused of not pulling her weight. Dr Syed-Shah said: "I felt that this was an attack on me by Dr Purewal. He knew that I could not take up an extra surgery on that day." At a meeting of the partners on August 4, one partner, Dr Marcus Julier, said: "Nobody should have a commitment that is more important than this surgery on any day that they are working at this practice.

Dr Syed-Shah said she was told the next day by partner Dr Elizabeth Martin that she would be "out of a job" if she continued going to Friday prayers. She said: "I felt bullied and victimised." Describing the occasion when she refused to take on another GP's patients as well as her own, Dr Syed-Shah said in her evidence that she did not consider it to be "clinically safe" to see a patient every five minutes.

The doctor said she became concerned about her health after two of her fingers swelled up and her hand and arm became painful following four-hour "telephone triage" sessions, which saw her "continually using" a computer and telephone. Dr Syed-Shah said that despite repeated complaints to the other partners about her health problems no-one suggested she should be excused from these sessions and "ignored their obligations to safeguard my health". Dr Syed-Shah was given one month's notice on August 8 in a letter which said the reason for the termination was that "arrangements are unfortunately... not working".

TURKEY

Turkish Muslim girls wait on April 7, 2009 behind a barricade near the Hagia sophia Church, now a museum, in Istanbul before US President Barack Obama's visit. Hagia Sophia which means Holy Wisdom in Greek, was built in the 6th century and converted to a Mosque in 1453 when the Ottomans conquered Istanbul, then called Constantinople. pledging respect for Islam, Obama turned to public diplomacy on April 7, meeting religious leaders and students and tourning ancient monuments in Istanbul on the second day of his first visit to a mainly Muslim nation. AFP Photo/Mustafa Ozer

US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP/Salih Zeki Fazlioglyu)


SNAPSHOTS FROM GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL MEETING IN DOHA - MAY 2, 2009

(REUTERS, Yahoo News)

Jazakulla Khair

Please feel free to contribute your valuable opinions at: amyusuf786@yahoo.com

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Vol 78, May 10, 2009

St. Louis, Missouri

Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

CONTENTS:

(1) Muslim Chef Sues Over Pork Request
(2) Hawaii Lawmakers Pass Bill to Create 'Islam Day'

(3) Muslim dentist 'refused to treat female patients unless they wore Islamic dress'

(4) Kentucky Fried Chicken is to launch a halal-only menu in eight of its London stores

(5) Female Pakistani Singer Killed In Peshawar

(6) Taliban Shave Men for Listening to Music
(7) Now Fire Service Introduces Hijab Headscarves for Muslim workers in UK

Muslim Chef Sues Over Pork Request

(www.the national.ae) May 10, 2009
David Sapsted
Foreign Correspondent

LONDON: A Muslim chef is suing Britain’s largest police force, claiming he suffered religious discrimination because he was expected to cook bacon and pork sausages for breakfast.

Hasanali Khoja is due to put his case against the Metropolitan Police to an employment tribunal, which starts a 10-day hearing in London tomorrow.

The case has caused outrage in the British press and has been seized on by far right political parties, being branded “the madness of multiculturalism” by the British National Party.

Mr Khoja, 60, whose claim is being backed by both the Association of Muslim Police and the National Black Police Association, says he was refused permission not to handle pork when he took a job as catering manager at a police headquarters in west London.

Instead, he said his supervisor suggested he wear gloves when preparing a “999 breakfast” – a policeman’s favourite that includes bacon, pork sausages and black pudding, which is made from pigs’ blood.

“I felt very unhappy about it. I was very upset and angry because it is not permissible in my religion,” said Mr Khoja, who is an adviser on Muslim food issues on the government’s Foods Standards Agency.

“I was threatened that management would sack me if I did not follow instructions. But I never enrolled to cook pork. I refused to do it. I never did it and I never would.

“I had a letter from the human resources department saying that I would not be required to cook any pork. But this was not exactly what I wanted as a guarantee.

“The Met has shown no sensitivity towards my religion. Their response has been ill-thought and discriminatory.”

Prior to moving to the west London headquarter, Mr Khoja worked at Hendon Police Training College, where he was not required to handle pork products.

“My original contract did not include any kind of cooking. I was hired as a senior catering manager,” he said. “I protested at the move [to west London] and at having to cook pork.

“I was placed on paid, special leave for a year. No Muslim in my position should have to face such harassment.”

....Khalid Sofi, Mr Khoja’s lawyer, insisted there was “an important issue of principle at stake” in the case, with ramifications for the police and wider society in Britain.

“He has genuine and strong religious beliefs and expects that they will be accommodated,” he said. “’The Met is a very large organisation and could easily have met his demands.

“Mr Khoja’s case raises the general question of the Met accommodating the needs of the Muslim community at a time when there is a lack of confidence in the police among Muslims.

“We are confident that we have a very good claim. Religious discrimination law obliges employers if possible to accommodate genuine religious needs.

“It was all very, very nasty. They were telling him to do something that was against his faith.”

The Metropolitan Police has had an uneasy relationship with Muslims in recent times. Tarique Ghaffur, an Assistant Commissioner with the force and the UK’s highest ranking Muslim police officer, last year accused the force of racial discrimination. He retired last November after receiving compensation.

Hawaii Lawmakers Pass Bill to Create 'Islam Day'

Fox News:
May 6, 2009

HONOLULU -- Hawaii's state Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday to celebrate "Islam Day" -- over the objections of a few lawmakers who said they didn't want to honor a religion connected to Sept. 11, 2001.

The Senate's two Republicans argued that a minority of Islamic extremists have killed many innocents in terrorist attacks.

...The resolution to proclaim Sept. 24, 2009, as Islam Day passed the Senate on a 22-3 vote. It had previously passed the House and now goes to Republican Gov. Linda Lingle.

The bill seeks to recognize "the rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions" that Islam and the Islamic world have made. It does not call for any spending or organized celebration of Islam Day.

"We are a state of tolerance. We understand that people have different beliefs," said Sen. Will Espero, a Democrat. "We may not all agree on every single item and issue out there, but to say and highlight the negativity of the Islamic people is an insult to the majority" of believers "who are good law-abiding citizens of the world."

Muslim dentist in UK 'refused to treat female patients unless they wore Islamic dress'
(www.mailonline.com)

By Tom Kelly

8th May 2009

"Omer Butt allegedly said it was duty to ensure Muslim women wore the hijab at his NHS dental clinic in Bury, Lancashire


A Muslim dentist refused to treat patients unless they wore traditional Islamic dress, it was alleged today.


Omer Butt, 32, ordered women to put on head scarves or he would not register them or their families at his NHS-funded clinic, it was claimed.

At least two patients were left in pain after they declined to follow his self-imposed rules, the General Dental Council heard.

It is the second time that the dentist - who is the brother of a former spokesman of the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun - has appeared before the council's disciplinary panel on similar allegations.

Two years ago he was reprimanded for telling an Asian mother-of-two he would not register her unless she wore the Muslim hijab.

The GDC heard how Butt believed it was his duty to stop Muslim patients committing what he believed was a religious sin.

He even put a laminated sign on the wall of his waiting room telling patients they would have to adhere to his strict dress code or find another dentist.

'He required that women cover their hair with a head scarf, or hijab, and that male patients remove any gold jewellery.

...'However, he insisted - and those who did not comply were refused treatment.

'He made compliance with Islamic dress code a condition of treatment, which is entirely inappropriate under the auspices of the National Health Service.

'Patients should have access to NHS treatment regardless of their religious observance, or otherwise.'

Butt, of Prestwich, Manchester, denies charges of misconduct for his treatment of two patients at the clinic.

If found guilty he faces being removed the dental register. In September 2007 Butt was formally reprimanded by the GDC for similar behaviour and found guilty of serious professional misconduct. The hearing, being held in London, continues.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is to launch a halal-only menu in eight of its London stores

(DailyMail)

May 7, 2009

Fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken is to launch a halal-only menu in eight of its London stores in a move which could be extended to other areas of the UK.

The menu, which will form part of a trial, will see the stores selling chicken products which have been fully approved by the Halal Food Authority for the first time.

KFC has 720 stores across the UK, and bosses said the move was designed to ensure the company was catering to a broader range of customers, following a growing demand for halal products.

It is the latest fast food chain to introduce a halal-only menu after Domino's launched one at a Birmingham store in February.

From this week, KFC bargain buckets, crispy strips and family feasts bought in certain outlets serving high Muslim populations will all have the halal-approved stamp.

The fast-food chain has so far converted eight of its London restaurants to sell the meat, in areas including Forest Gate, West Ham, Tottenham and Bethnal Green.

The chosen branches, which also include those in Beckton, Leyton, Edmonton and Hounslow, will have a logo on the door telling visitors that all food served has been fully approved by the Halal Food Authority (HFA).

As Muslims cannot eat pork, the Halal branches have removed the Big Daddy burger from the menu as it contains bacon.

KFC's scheme will be trialed over the summer, but if it proves a success dozens more branches across the country are expected to follow suit and become halal-only.

The company said halal menus could be launched in other stores where large numbers of Muslim customers are based and 'where there is demand'.

Over the next few months it will closely monitor customer feedback in the chosen outlets and if it is good they will be permanently converted to 100 per cent halal.

The move follows a similar decision made by Dominos Pizza, which launched a halal only menu at its Hall Green store in Birmingham earlier this year amid a storm of controversy.

Domino's said the change has improved business despite an initial backlash from non-halal customers who complained they were not able to order pizzas such as the Meteor which contains pepperoni, sausage, meatballs and bacon.

But KFC insists that the taste of its chicken will remain 'finger-lickin good' and that it has only converted branches where there are other non-halal ones within a two-mile radius.

Halal means any item on the menu which may contain bacon, ham or pork must be removed and all the chicken must by halal-approved.

The chain has also moved to assure customers that its halal certified chicken would meet the rigorous animal welfare standards used across the UK.

Masood Khawaja, President of the Halal Food Authority, welcomed the trial and said it was good news for the Muslim community.

'Having worked with KFC closely, Halal Food Authority is delighted to accredit the usage of the HFA logo and symbol of approval on endorsed products,' Mr Khawaja said.

'The Muslim community can now enjoy all the products in this trial in eight participating halal-approved restaurants, as these have been procured with full adherence to both Islamic dietary rules and relevant EU hygiene, food safety and animal welfare regulations.'

Female Pakistani Singer Killed In Peshawar

April 29, 2009

www.rferl.org

By Kristin Deasy, Sharifa Esmatullah

PESHAWAR, Pakistan. Ayman Udas, a rising female vocalist in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, was shot at her home, allegedly by her own brothers.



Her death has rattled the city's jittery artistic community, as local musicians and dancers in Peshawar -- a city renowned for its vibrant artistic life -- face increasing pressure as the region falls under greater Taliban influence.

Some attributed Udas's death to the Islamist militants, but her husband told reporters that his wife was killed because she broke family traditions.

A beautiful woman in her early 30s and mother of two, Udas recently remarried after a divorce. Her two brothers, Alamgir and Ismail, disapproved of her divorce, remarriage, and her artistic career, all of which disgrace a family's name in conservative Islamic society.

The honor killing, an ancient tradition in which a male family member kills a female to "save" the family name, took place on April 27 at the family's home while Udas's husband was out picking up milk. He immediately took the case to the authorities, who have made no arrests but raided several locations in search of the suspected killers.

Udas -- poet, lyricist, and popular Pakistani singer -- had recently given her first television appearance. In one of her more popular songs, "Mra shum ashna khu pa jwando ki usam, janana sta pa waswaso ki usa," she sings about the importance of courage, even to the point of defying death.

Her death "is absolutely unacceptable," Ahmad Ali Adil of the University of Peshawar told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, calling the crime "a murder of humanity." He said that unless society changes, several other female performers will face similar problems.

Meanwhile, Artists are coming under direct threat in Taliban-controlled areas. In January, a dancer's bullet-ridden body was left in the center of Swat Valley's capital of Mingora not far from where Udas grew up -- with a note warning locals that "un-Islamic voices" will no longer be tolerated.

Taliban Shave Men for Listening to Music

(news.com.au)
Agence France-Presse

April 26, 2009

TALIBAN militants in northwest Buner district shaved the heads and moustaches of four Pakistani men as punishment for listening to music, one of the men said.

Now Fire Service Introduces Hijab Headscarves for Muslim workers in UK

By Jaya Narain
31st March 2009

Pop into the firestation and the chances are there'd be a group of reassuringly burly men in there waiting for the call out, with uniforms and firefighting suits tailored for their use alone.

...with the fire service anxious to attract recruits of all sexes and backgrounds, it was decided that something had to be done.

So yesterday the results were uneveiled, including full-length skirts, hijab headscarfs and long- sleeved shirts for Muslim women recruits.

The hope is that the uniforms, designed for wearing round the station and for outings such as school trips, will be smarter and better fitting for every firefighter - even the men.

For the first time also, women will get their own mustard yellow fire-fighting suit designed to protect their breasts and upper body.

This outfit was tried on yesterday by Lincolnshire firefighter Julie Smith.

'It is right that male firefighters and female firefighters to need protection in different areas,' she said. 'It is very comfortable, very new and very yellow.'

Her boss Mike Thomas, Chief Fire Officer for Lincolnshire, declared the uniforms would help 'bust' the ' traditional image of the hunky, British, white, male, firefighter' - even though a great many of his staff probably fit this description.

'There are no better positive role models than women and ethnic recruits in these uniforms, and hopefully they will encourage people to join,' he added.

Firemen in Lincolnshire will be the first to try out the new national uniform which also includes sports and maternity wear.

Fire minister Sadiq Khan added: 'We want the widest range of applicants to apply to join the fire and rescue service".

Jazakullah Khair

Feel free to contribute your valuable opinions by e-mail: amyusuf786@yahoo.com

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH
Vol 77, May 02, 2009

St. Louis, Missouri

Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

GLOBAL UMMAH IN PICTURES:

One picture speaks a thousand words

An Iraqi teacher lectures a class of illiterate women at an all-female school in Baghdad. Last year saw a sharp increase in the number of suicide attacks committed by women in Iraq but now, in a country where 35 percent of the female population cannot read, a new programme is aiming to help women into education.(AFP/File/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

Egyptian activists wear stickers of the Kefaya (enough) movement, the Egyptian Movement for Change, over their mouths during a protest in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, April 6, 2009 . A planned nationwide strike and series of demonstrations by pro-democracy activists in Cairo fizzled Monday in the face of a massive security presence and widespread apathy. (AP Photo/Amr Sharaf)

A famous Pakistani Social Worker Abdul Sattar Edhi on a wheelchair, along with other members of Pakistan civil society March during a rally to mark International Women's Day in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, March 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

A member of Pakistani civil society with a candle take part in a rally in connection with International Women's day in Lahore, Pakistan on Saturday, March 7, 2009. Pakistan will observe the International Women's day, along with other nations on Sunday. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. (AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary)

An Iraqi woman holds a banner that reads "Stop Violence Against Women" during a rally in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday March 8, 2009. Iraqi women face extreme poverty and personal insecurity despite an overall decrease in nationwide violence, a prominent aid group said Sunday as it urged the Iraqi government to increase state aid for women and their families. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)

DOME OF ROCK: Palestinian worshippers pray outside the Dome of Rock at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Feb 6, 2009. Police beefed up security in Jerusalem's old City on Thursday following reports that Jewish extremists planned to rally at the compound as Muslims holds prayers there. (AFP/File/Ahmad Gharabli)

DARFUR: Displaced Sudanese people queue up to receive aid at the Kasab camp near Kutum in norther Darfur. Armed men in Sudan's Darfur have kidnapped two aid workers from a French humanitarian group, the group said, in the latest act to target foreign aid organizations in the war-ravaged region. (AFP/FILE/March Prior)

Women of a Pakistani civil society dance on the traditional drum beat during a rally to mark International Women's Day in Islamabad, Pakistan on Sunday, March 8, 2009. Thousands of women demonstrated in nation-wide rallies on International women's Day, demanding freedom, equal rights and an end to discriminatory laws in this Muslim nation. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)oto/Channi Aanand)

Migrant women workers push hand carts loaded with cow dung which is used in place of fuel in rural areas, in Amritsar, India. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) oto/Mahesh Kumar A)

A young girl smiles while carrying cow dung on her head..which is used in place of fuel in rural areas, ahead of the International Women's day, in Amritsar, India, Saturday March 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) oto/Mahesh Kumar A)

A police special forces officer speaks with a street vendor selling flowers, the bestselling item of the Women's day shopping, in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, Russia, Sunday, March 8, 2009. While some former Soviet Republics have dropped International Women's Day on March 8th, as a relic of the Communist era, it is still an official holiday in Russia, where men give flowers and gifts to female relatives, friends and colleagues. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev)

A view of a mosque in Cairo during sunset April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Tarek Mostafa

A Bangladeshi beggar looks through the window of a car in an upscale area of Dhaka on April 4, 2009. BANGLADESH WHERE AN ESTIMATED 700,000 PEOPLE HAVE EKED OUT A LIVING BY BEGGING, A NEW GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN HAS MADE THE PRACTICE ILLEGAL. (AFP/File, Munir UZ Zaman)

A Bangladeshi beggar asks for money in an upmarket area of Dhaka. (AFP/File, Munir UZ Zaman)

A blind Bangladeshi beggar holds her child as she begs for money in an upscale area of Dhaka. (AFP/File, Munir UZ Zaman)

Refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh hold Friday prayers in Sabang. Indonesia said Friday it will repatriate 174 "economic migrants" who fled Myanmar claiming persecution, as new accounts emerged of their harrowing sea journey and alleged abuse by the Thai navy.
(AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)

Muslims bow toward Mecca during the "Biswa Ijtema" or the World Islamic Congregation at Tongi, on the outskirts of Dhaka. At least two million worshippers gathered north of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka Friday for a three-day event billed as the largest annual Islamic event after the hajj. (AFP/Munir Uz Zaman)




Muslims gather for the "Biswa Ijtema" or the World Islamic Congregation at Tongi, on the outskirts of Dhaka. At least two million worshippers gathered north of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka Friday for a three-day event billed as the largest annual Islamic event after the hajj. (AFP/Munir Uz Zaman)

A boy holds a child as his mother Mariam Bibi crushes dry cell batteries to recycle carbon, ahead of International Women's Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, March 7, 2009. BIBI EARNS ABOUT ONE U.S. DOLLARS FOR CRUSHING ONE THOUSAND BATTERIES PER DAY. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)

Bangladeshi women march through the streets to mark the international Women's Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday March 8, 2009. The banner in Bengali reads "END THE VIOLENCE AGAINST THE WOMEN AND GIRL CHILD TOGETHER". (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman).

File photo shows a view of the Bibi Heybat Mosque just outside Azerbaijan's capital Baku. The commander of the ex-Soviet state's air force, Rail Rzayev, has been shot dead in the capital, local news agencies have reported. (AFP/File/Mladen Antonov)

Israeli Police control one of the entrances to Jerusalem's Old City near the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. US Middle East envoy George Mitchell was set to meet Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank after pressing a two-state solution to sceptical officials in Israel.(AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)

Indian Election Commission representatives photograph Muslim women voters along with their identity cards after they cast their votes at a polling booth at Chitavanpur village in mirzapur district, in the northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh, Thursday, April 16, 2009. All the voters at this booth were photographed as a precautionary measure to check bogus voting. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Jazakullah Khair

Feel free to contribute your valuable opinion via e-mail: amyusuf786@yahoo.com